Monday, February 10, 2014

Ranking The New York Yankees New Additions

When your farm system is in complete and total disarray and
your team has just missed the playoffs for
only the second time since 1995 there is only way to attempt to become
relevant again. You spend a lot of money
and sign a lot of players.

With pitchers and catchers reporting this Friday it appears
that GM Brian Cashman is finished making major moves to the roster. I'm going
to examine the seven off-season acquisitions to the New York Yankees roster and
predict the impact that they will have this season, good or bad.

Matt Thornton- The Boone Logan era is over with and
the Matt Thornton era will begin in the Bronx this season. Signed to replace Logan is the late-inning
lefty from the pen, Thornton will be kept very busy by manager Joe Girardi and
his infamous binder. Perhaps no manager
in MLB is obsessed with match-ups as Girardi is and Thornton can count on very
little boredom in his life this season.

Thornton is 37 years old and will be 38 years old before the
season ends. Although Thornton has been durable and sound, it is very realistic
to question if he can handle a heavy workload as he ages.

Thornton is almost as effective vs right-handed batters as he
is left-handed batters and that is a big positive in evaluating his possible
impact on the Yankee bullpen. Thornton
has held lefties to a .233 BA and a .297 OBP in his career while allowing a
.241 BA and .324 OBP.

Prediction- Thornton had his highest ERA last season
since 2007 and more alarmingly, struck
out only 30 batters in 43.1 innings last season. He looks like a player who is trending downward
and is likely to be used harder by Girardi than he has in recent years.

I do not like this acquisition at all and think it is just
another example of poor vision and an awful farm system burning Cashman and
forcing him to sign one of the few lefty pen options that were available.

I wouldn't be surprised if the name Thornton was being spoken
in contemptuous tones by Yankee fans by the summer.

Kelly Johnson- Making his third stop on three
different AL East teams in three years is this journeyman infielder. Johnson has a little pop in his bat but has
had a serious decline in BA in the last three seasons hitting only .222, .225,
and .235 from 2011-2013.

Johnson isn't a particularly skilled infielder nor is he a
natural third baseman, where is being projected to start for the Yankees. Johnson has only started TWELVE GAMES in his
career at third base.

Prediction- The thought of Johnson starting for the
Yankees at such an important position should terrify Yankee fans. Johnson's
poor offense is reason enough to find his projected starting role at third base
troubling, but when his defense and lack of experience at the hot corner are
added into the equation it becomes a potential nightmare.

If Yankee fans aren't already rooting for Eduardo Nunez to
supplant Johnson as the starter at third base, I suspect that they will be
before the season is very old.

Brian Roberts- After signing a 4 year/40 million
dollar extension with the Orioles in 2010,
Roberts managed to injure just about every part of the human body
possible and played in only 192 games in 2010-2013.

We know what kind of player Roberts was before 2010. He was one of the best lead off hitters in
the game and possessed an above average glove.

It isn't very hard to sum up the Roberts signing. If Roberts can maintain some degree of health
he will at the very least provide the Yankees with some power and an average
glove at 2nd base. If Roberts
doesn't stay healthy then the Yankees have wasted two million dollars.

Prediction- I believe the Roberts signing will turn
out to be a good signing for the Yankees, perhaps even a great signing. I think Roberts could have a stint with the
Yankees that could be comparable to the one that Eric Chavez had, perhaps even
better. Like Chavez before he came to
the Bronx, Roberts works very hard and has been honest about his pride being
hurt by the circumstances of the last few years. The major hindrance to Roberts was the
post-concussion syndrome that is now behind him. His recent injuries were a bit fluky and
minor in nature. The Yankee culture and
atmosphere bring out the best in many veterans considered over the hill and I
believe Roberts will be one of the these players. I think Roberts will have a very positive
impact on the Yankees this season.

Carlos Beltran- One of the greatest postseason hitters
of all-time, Beltran was signed to a three year/45 million dollar contract that
many believe was one year too many. I
certainly agree that giving Beltran an extra year at age 39 was as asinine as
it was indicative of just how badly Brian Cashman has destroyed the Yankees'
farm system.

Beltran is a switch-hitter who has slightly better numbers
from the right side of the plate but who is very proficient from both sides.

Beltran had a rebound year in 2013 for his batting average
but his OPS and slugging percentage were almost the same as his 2012 numbers in
those areas. He was basically the same player in 2013 that he was in 2012 with
a higher BABIP. A repeat of his
offensive performances from any of the last three seasons will be enough to
make Yankee fans happy in 2014.

Prediction- I think Beltran could regress a bit off of
his recent seasons but should give the Yankees a solid, but not great season in
2014. Beltran turns 37 in April and with
another World Series ring and another 45 million dollars on what should be his
last major contract, I fear Beltran could lack fire. Another concern is that
Beltran hasn't faced American League pitching regularly since the summer of
2004 when he was traded by the Royals to the Astros.

Brian McCann- Stability has returned behind home plate
in Yankee Stadium with the signing of Brian McCann, an all-star in seven of his
eight seasons as Atlanta's full-time catcher.
McCann has lifetime splits of .277/.350/.823 for BA/OBP/OPS. McCann returned from torn
labrum surgery last year in May to post a very solid season. Although McCann throws out slightly fewer
runners on a percentage basis than the league average, his defense is
considered slightly above average.
McCann is a lefty who should show more power in Yankee Stadium.

Prediction- McCann should have a good offensive season
in 2014 but his greatest value to the Yankees may come from an intangible that
McCann possesses in his ability to call a game. It's no coincidence that McCann leaves Atlanta
with the best young top to bottom group of starters and relievers in MLB.
McCann's handling of Minor, Teheran, Medlan, Venters, Avilan, and Kimbrel
certainly helped those young pitchers achieve the maturity that they have
displayed which is far beyond their years.

This is a crucial time to have a catcher that a pitching
staff can trust to crouch behind the plate at Yankee Stadium. David Robertson
would ideally have another year setting up before taking over the closers'
role. C.C. Sabathia is badly in need of confidence and perhaps some different
tactics after his worst season in pinstripes. Ivan Nova finished 2013 in
ferocious fashion and needs to continue to take advantage of his great stuff
without a regression. Masahiro Tanaka will be making the transition to the USA
and MLB under a huge spotlight.

McCann is exactly what the doctor ordered to restore
stability behind the plate and restore or maintain confidence in some pitchers
who definitely could use it.

I think McCann will have a very good 2014 season for the
Yankees that may not always be apparent in the box score.

Masahiro Tanaka- Perhaps the most heralded Japanese
pitcher to come to America, Tanaka's 2013 W-L record of 24-0 and ERA of 1.27
topped both leagues in Japan. Tanaka is
twenty-five years old but pitched 1315 innings in his last seven seasons in
Japan. Tanaka's fastball is usually in
the low 90's and he also throws a splitter and slider as primary pitches.
Tanaka will also toss in occasional change ups.

Prediction- While the Yankees' GM Brian Cashman
recently stated that he expected Tanaka to be a number three starter, that was
almost certainly posturing to attempt to take pressure off of Tanaka. While
some Japanese pitchers have struggled to adjust to the American culture, Tanaka
has been looking forward to it for a long time.
Tanaka isn't your typical “don't draw attention to yourself” Japanese
player. His wife is a Japanese
entertainment idol and he has already stated rather brazenly that he is coming
to New York to win championships.

Tanaka's style and confidence are exactly what are needed to
to make a successful transition to MLB and to a place like New York. Tanaka seems to be cut from a different cloth
than previous Japanese pitchers who came to America and his cavalier attitude
should serve him very well. While it's impossible to predict exactly how
Tanaka's stuff will translate to MLB, going 24-0 at any level of organized
baseball with a 1.27 ERA is an amazing feat that only a pitcher of incredible
ability could accomplish.

I think Tanaka has a very big year for the Yankees in
2014. I expect a huge first half of the
season from Tanaka while facing hitters who haven't seen him yet. I predict Tanaka makes the All-Star team this
season.

Jacoby Ellsbury- While watching Jacoby Ellsbury's
incredible 2011 season I remember hoping that the Red Sox would allow him to
get to free agency so the Yankees could sign him. I was given a million reasons why neither
would happen, and right up to the day the Yankees signed him didn't expect it
to happen. In signing Ellsbury, I
believe the Yankees have signed the best CF not named Trout or McCutchen.

Ellsbury has been labeled injury-prone quite irresponsibly by
those who don't distinguish between freak
occurrences of injury and players who get hurt performing ordinary baseball
tasks.

After good and outstanding seasons in 2008 and 2009
respectively in which he stole a total of 120 bases, Ellsbury suffered broken
ribs that ended his season after only 18 games when he ran into Adrian Beltre
while attempting to run down a fly ball. Beltre is a tank of a man, listed at
5'11'' and 225 pounds and looking every bit of that. There aren't too many players who could run
into a guy like Beltre at full speed and not suffer severe injuries.

Ellsbury returned from those injuries to post an incredible
2011 season in which he was runner-up for the AL MVP to Justin Verlander. Ellsbury deserved the MVP that season and was
probably penalized due to the historical September collapse of the Red Sox.

In 2011 Ellsbury hit .321 while posting a .376 OBP and a .928
OPS while hitting 32 home runs and adding a Gold Glove to his resume.

In 2012 Ellsbury was injured again while sliding into second
base attempting to break up a double play when Tampa Bay SS Reid Brignac landed
with full force on the shoulder of Ellsbury.
Brignac is 6'3” and 195 pounds and there aren't a lot of players who are
going to get up from an incident like that without a broken shoulder.

In his four seasons without these two fluke collisions,
Ellsbury played 590 games for an average of 147.5 games per season.

In 2013 Ellsbury put up splits of .298/.355/.781 and stole an
incredible 52 bases in 56 attempts.

Its important to note that Ellsbury put up his numbers in
Fenway, a park that is far more kind to right-handed batters than it is to
lefties.

Ellsbury should have more power in Yankee Stadium with the
short porch in right field and add a stolen base threat that the Yankees needed
badly.

Ellsbury and Gardner will also team to make the term “in the
gap” obsolete and put a lot of smiles on the faces of Yankee pitchers.

Prediction- Of the “big four” acquisitions of the
off-season, Ellsbury will have the greatest impact and become a fan favorite
immediately. He should torture opposing
teams on the base paths, hit for power numbers close to his 2011 season, and be
the best player on the 2014 Yankees. As
good as he is, Ellsbury is underrated player who may play with a bit of a chip
on his shoulder and provide the Yankees with a great return on their
investment.